I don't know that it's necessarily a love interest for the therapist. If there's paternal or maternal transference going on, then that can affect what you share, too. Because there can be this feeling of, I don't want to let this parent figure down, I don't want to be a disappointment to them, I don't want them to judge me. And that can, of course, be stuff that comes from childhood, not wanting to disappoint or feel rejected by our parents.

And sometimes it's just the thought of telling ANYONE about certain topics. Even knowing cognitively that a therapist has probably heard most everything before, there's still that fear that they'll be horrified.